Robots, new impressive discoveries, unbelievable technologies... and prejudgment.
Last century was a breakthrough in science and medicine, but we are still afraid of showing our real personalities.
One of the most vulnerable creatures are the people of art, writers in particular. Many of the modern authors keep writing under pen names.
What makes them doing it?
Evidently, the fact we aren't wise enough to judge people by their acts and content, not gender, appearance or nationality.
Though, taking pseudonymous helps to reach the writers' goals generally, desire to impress male or female readers creating a corresponding gender pen name or to catch the fancy of the publisher constructing an exotic name are not quite right grounds for taking a nom de guerre.
Yet, authors have other, worthwhile reasons for not showing their real names. The ones that really help them succeed.
Here they are:
1. Second chance.
You definitely heard stories about J.K. Rowling, who got 12 rejections from major publishers before publishing Harry Potter or Stephen King, who got about 30 rejections before he published his first book.
The writer's path is thorny. It requires courage and faith in yourself.
Some of the writers have these features. Others don't. But time after time both of them need to sound fresh. Especially, if they were published earlier, but haven't succeeded.
It gives them credibility in the publishers' eyes. People most likely let pass the mistakes made by the beginner, then the experienced writer. And often that is exactly what a writer needs: support and adequate expectations.
2. Writer's brand.
When the writers are famous and they are known as, for example, non-fiction writers, it is a tricky thing to publish the fiction novel or erotic stories under their real names.
Imagine, if Nike starts selling evening dresses. Will you buy it? Hardly. You definitely will pay attention, but you will be full of doubts. There is a strong connection in your mind: Nike—sport goods.
It is the same with writers. When you are buying the non-fiction writer's book, you're expecting to find there fairy-tale worlds and fantastic creatures. And when instead of that you find there a dozen of pages of author inner dialog related to his teenage years, you'll be very surprised, probably even disappointed. And it is the less desirable feeling for the writer who takes first steps in a new genre.
Thereby, pen names could save authors' earned authority in case of failure in a new field.
3. Euphony.
Certainly, there is no need to be ashamed of your name if it sounds unusual or funny as long as you like it and consider it as an inseparable part of you. But some names (like Irish Aoibheann Conchobhair, or Chech Řegoř Ctvrtnik, etc.) are just hard to spell, and the other languages native speakers can't read or pronounce them.
People could buy a book, liked the story, but they wouldn't be able to remember the writer's name and share it with others.
Common names work better. We memorize words we already familiar with easier. And new definitions escape from our minds.
The short and simple names help writers become famous, become a buzz word.
4. Uniqueness.
Before publishing a book, as a rule, publishers or writers themselves check if there are already famous people with the same or similar names.
It could be a well-known writer, or a famous person in other fields: science, music, politics, etc. The existence of two equal famed names leads to misunderstanding. For example, people who already knew the another person with the name like the new writer has would think it is one person.
Besides, if you would like Google search shows your name on the first page, it needs to be unique. Also, the unique name is good for Amazon sales. If a writer's name is unique, customers won't mix it up with another writer. So, it increases a writer's chances to become a recognizable author.
In the era of the Internet and social media, it is hard to hide from the public and it seems there is no sense even to try doing this. Nevertheless, sometimes writing under a pseudonym solves many problems and helps to get answers to a plenty of questions.
Intrigue is one of the most effective writer's tools. It keeps the recipients' attention, makes them explore writers' details, and find hidden information by themselves, and finally, it increases the chances they will love the writers' books.
However, choosing a pen name is not easy as it might sound. Writers and publishers work diligently. They check how the names sound in different languages, what meaning they have, etc.
Writers do their own research: outer and inner. They do their best to make their names (and writing, naturally) inimitable.
They try hard to be understood.
They build bridges for readers to cross.
They create.